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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask how you fall asleep

70 replies

WindowWonder · 08/02/2019 22:41

I can’t switch off. My mind races with everything I’ve done that day/need to do the next day.
I’m knackered all day, go to bed and PING wide awake!!!
Please give me some pointers before I go nuts!

OP posts:
MaudeLynne · 08/02/2019 23:29

I put the tv on and 'watch' something I've either seen before or that doesn't really interest me. Timer is on for 30 minutes and I don't see the tv go off. Can't watch something good or interesting as I'd stay awake to watch, and can't read as there's no sleep timer and i keep turning the pages.

MaudeLynne · 08/02/2019 23:31

I also concentrate on feeling heavy from my toes up to my head in 5 second chunks. Often surprising how much i can sink into the bed.

madcatladyforever · 08/02/2019 23:33

I told myself a long time ago that I can't do anything during the night hours as everything is shut and promise myself I'll deal with it in the morning.
That's it really from an ex chronic insomniac. I'm asleep as soon as my head touches the pillow now.
I persuaded myself to see that little piece of common sense and that a good nights sleep would help me to be more productive the next day.

Talisin · 08/02/2019 23:34

I watch a head & face massage video on YouTube and then listen to this on amazon prime. Rarely fails.

abeautifulmess1234 · 08/02/2019 23:34

What is amsr?

abeautifulmess1234 · 08/02/2019 23:35

Asmr even

Drogosnextwife · 08/02/2019 23:42

I have a pretty strict routine 😂. I have to have all the house work done so the house is really tidy, I go round and make sure all doors and windows are locked. Have to make sure the kids are covered and the bathroom light is left on for them. I can't sleep unless all that is done.
My actual routine though, have a bath moisturize, teeth, brush hair glad of water, phone and a tub of Vaseline next to the bed. I have a good stretch, lie on my back, stretch muscles while I'm lying in bed, covers have to cover my whole body up to my chin then I can go to sleep. It's a pretty exhausting routine. I sometimes sit o MN until I get so tired I can't keep my eyes open though Wink

Drogosnextwife · 08/02/2019 23:44

DP makes fun of me for taking so long, doesn't sound like much but I can't miss out a single bit.

Oh and I have to make sure my bladder is completely empty.

LadyFidgetAndHerHandbag · 08/02/2019 23:46

I read. Some nights I read two lines and am gone, other nights it takes longer. I've been doing it that way since I could read independently and am incapable of going to sleep without reading now. Nothing thrilling or exciting, I love gentle books at bedtime like Agatha Christie or funny without being laugh out loud like Jane Austen. I also suffer from insomnia so do take drugs, my antidepressant induces sleep so I have that every night plus a sleeping pill if things are bad. On the whole reading and drugs sends me off but wanking is a great back-up plan.

WinkyisbackontheButterBeer · 08/02/2019 23:47

FrameyMcFrame I do that too.
Sometimes I do names that I would call my imaginary next child or names of children I have taught. Foods, counties, uk cities.

PerfectionistProcrastinator · 08/02/2019 23:49

Would making a to do list for the following day help? I always read for a while before bed, it seems to help.

LadyFidgetAndHerHandbag · 08/02/2019 23:49

Routine is really important for going to sleep too. For me it's feed the cats, make a cup of tea (I drink decaf for most of the day), brush teeth, get into bed, cuddle and a chat with husband, drink tea, read, sleep.

turncloak · 08/02/2019 23:55

@abeautifulmess1234
It's amazing! It stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. There is a huge community on Youtube, and the sole purpose of the videos is to relax people. Like @Talisin, I find the head/back massages to be the most effective, but I think different people react to different sound/visuals.

LikeACowsOpinion · 08/02/2019 23:56

I suffer from insomnia as well as chronic pain so sleep is almost non-existent for me.
What I tend to do though is run through a story in my head with lots of detail.

My current one is my life after winning the lottery. I visualise my house, my cars, going shopping, jetting off on holiday and my luxurious new life in general.
Really mundane stuff but I always fall asleep at roughly the same time.

Ginghampanther · 09/02/2019 00:06

Reading does just the opposite for me, if it’s a good book I’ll happily stay up all night until I finish it!

I do like the headspace app though, that’s usually works pretty well. Or a YouTube guided sleep mediation. Or even the ‘sound sleeper’ app which I’ve had since my DS was a baby, I like to listen to the thunderstorm on there, it’s really soothing.

thefairyfellersmasterstroke · 09/02/2019 00:08

I do the "things beginning with A, then B" thing as well. Girls' names, boys' names, countries, animals, etc. Or count sheep in a foreign language. Or reciting a long poem in my head. Or try to recall all my ancestors' names. Conjugate Spanish verbs , if I'm desperate. Or try to count how many years I've suffered from insomnia.

SnowyAlpsandPeaks · 09/02/2019 00:18

I pick a subject and go through the alphabet.

How many girls names can I think of starting with A, B, C and so on.
How many boys names....
How many fruits....
How many countries....
How many cities.....

Basically playing boy, girl, fruit, flower but altered for my sleep lol

I rarely get past the first 4/5 letters on a subject before I’m asleep.

SnowyAlpsandPeaks · 09/02/2019 00:19

@thefairyfellersmasterstroke Snap! I didn’t read through the thread before postingBlush

jinglewithbellson · 09/02/2019 00:28

Glad I came across this thread.
Had a week of bad interrupted sleep Hmm
Lots in my mind but am exhausted after a full on busy job two dc one adult ds plus his gf two dogs and a house to organise.
I should be dropping like a fly but I get into bed shattered,nod off and wake up again within an hour or so and struggle to go back off.

I started the relaxing bedtime thing at 9.30 tonight as I'm so tired.
Got into bed and read for a bit. Must have nodded off and at 10.45 I woke up and have been awake ever since.

I've now just had a cup of hot milk and the loo and am going to try some of the things suggested in here.

RainbowMum11 · 09/02/2019 00:41

I count backwards.
Sometimes in Spanish.
If I've got things flying through my head, I keep a notebook and pen next to my bed so I can write it down which can help.

Guineapiglet345 · 09/02/2019 01:18

Lots of people will say no screen time but I just cannot fall asleep without the noise of the TV, it has to be something I’ve watched a million times before, so it’s not engaging but I find repeats of Ab Fab or Poirot best, I don’t even get past the opening credits. If I don’t have the sound and light then I start to worry about things that have been bothering me, even if it was things that happened years before.

halfwitpicker · 09/02/2019 01:24

I have various scenarios that I replay in my head - usually involving sex with one of the men at work in an elevator is something. Eventually I fall asleep.

honeylane · 09/02/2019 01:30

I fantasise about an alternative/perfect life. Dream house, dream job etc

It relaxes me and distracts me from all the stress of the day! Works pretty effectively

JuniperBeer · 09/02/2019 01:31

I use the deep sleep app with Andrew something. V relaxing. Every night.

Ifonlybatshadhats · 09/02/2019 01:36

You need to find your 3rd eye. Find a 1:1 meditation guide to learn how. I had insomnia for 5 months and only after meditation sessions did I learn how to sleep properly again. It honestly helped.